I've been running 6-7 miles 5 days a week for awhile now. I was wondering if adding weights would help me gain some muscle mass. I really don't like working out at the gym, but I enjoy running. Anyone have any experience with this?

I going to jump on your bandwagon and say, I would like to know this as well!

running with hand weights is generally not recommended unless you enjoy joint pain in your wrists, elbows and shoulders.



some people hike and walk in weighted vests to increase muscle in their legs, but if you want your arms to tone up you have to weight train.



one or 2 exersizes per muscle group 2 x a week will show a increase in muscle mass, so you don't need to do a lot.

it would get old carrying weights too and they really don't do a lot for your arms.



if one did not want to invest in a weighted vest a day pack with weights works as well.



many variations on pushups, as wells as pullups and some dips work well for arm and shoulder tone.

I tried running with ankle weights once, and ended up seriously aggravating my shin splint problem. My physical therapist told me that weights are not really necessary if you are a runner, since it is an endurance exercise. Some light weights to stay toned is fine, but I find that swimming is all I need to keep my upper body strong and toned.

30 to 35 MPW is heckuva lot more than my aging joints could ever take (long-term). I agree with the post above - trying to use running to gain muscle mass is a mis-use of this form of exercise, which is for endurance. Good luck!

When I was an athlete (3 years ago, before the injuries) I was trying running with ankle-weights. My trainer told me to stop, but I didn't because I felt pain and I thought my muscles are growing... it wasn't the growing muscles... It ended with 2 injuries in the same ankle (a seriously twisted ankle and almost torn muscle in the Achile's two months after recovering from the twisted ankle)... Now I understand that I pressed the joint and the muscle too much and caused those injuries.

if you'd like, go to the gym twice a week for 20-30 minutes and lift weights separately.



try this routine: leg press, bench press, and row on day 1; overhead press, pull downs (or chin ups, using chin up form on pull downs if you do that), and weighted abdominal exercises (crunches with a weight on your chest, weighted side bends) on day 2.



i did this routine for a month and i leaned out really fast and got great muscle shape. it's an easy, fun routine too. Oh, i do two sets of ten for each exercise.

Any exercise you can keep doing for 6-7 miles is not intense enough for most efficient muscle mass gain. High load (and therefore short duration) work is what best stimulates muscle fibers.



Is there any activity you do enjoy (or at least, not mind too much) that involves high load resistances? Rock climbing, for example?

Running with weights is kinda like running with boots , almost every time you feel like it. You do run faster....feels like flying !

I run with very light ankle weights when I train, and then I take them off for races. It probably won't help you gain any muscle mass; you'd need a lot of weight for that and then you'd probably just injure yourself.



Just buy some cheap weights and do bicep curls and dips a few times a week at home.